Title
A MOTION requesting the executive to develop a homeless encampment map and dashboard status report and to develop a comprehensive plan to remove homeless encampments.
Body
WHEREAS, on November 2, 2015, King County executive Dow Constantine and Seattle mayor Ed Murray proclaimed homelessness to be in a state of emergency in King County and the city of Seattle, and
WHEREAS, the number of individuals in King County experiencing homelessness is more than eleven thousand seven hundred, according to the 2020 Point-in-Time Count for Seattle and King County, and
WHEREAS, on December 18, 2019, King County and the city of Seattle entered into an interlocal agreement approved by the King County council and the Seattle city council creating the King County Regional Homelessness Authority to oversee a coordinated and unified response to homelessness, and
WHEREAS, since the creating of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, the King County council enacted Ordinance 19179, imposing a one-tenth of one percent sales tax for construction of new affordable housing units and construction and operation of new behavioral health facilities, known as the Health Through Housing sales tax, and
WHEREAS, in April 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided interim guidance on people experiencing unsheltered homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic, which in part recommends allowing "people who are living unsheltered or in encampments to remain where they are" in order to minimize the spread of infection disease, and
WHEREAS researchers form the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation <https://www.healthdata.org/> at the University of Washington stated that the pandemic phase of COVID-19 is over and we are heading into an endemic phase, and
WHERES pandemic restriction including prohibitions on large gatherings, vaccine verification requirements, mask mandates and other social distancing restrictions have been lifted, and
WHEREAS King County has the obligation to be a good steward of the property it holds on behalf of the public and to provide safe and secure access to public spaces, and
WHEREAS unsanctioned homeless encampments can create public safety and health impacts to both encampment residents and the communities in which they exist, and
WHEREAS the council is committed to making homelessness rare, brief and one time, and
WHEREAS on May 30, 2022, the city of Seattle announced a new homelessness dashboard that will give a snapshot of people experiencing homelessness by neighborhood;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
A. The council requests that the executive work with the King County sheriff’s office, the department of natural resources and parks, the department of community and human services and local jurisdictions, including, but not limited to, the city of Seattle, to develop a publicly available homeless encampment map and dashboard that includes, but is not limited to, a map of known homeless encampments currently operating in King County, the approximate number of individuals residing at each location and the current list of site mitigation and removal efforts.
B. The executive should electronically file a homeless encampment map and dashboard status report no later than October 1, 2022, with the clerk of the council, who shall retain the original and provide an electronic copy to all councilmembers, the council chief of staff, the chief policy officer and the lead staff for the committee of the whole, or its successor.
C. Utilizing the mapping done in the homeless encampment map and dashboard requested in section A of this motion, the council requests that the executive develop a comprehensive plan to remove homeless encampments for unincorporated King County. The plan should include, but not be limited to, the following components:
1. A strategy to systematically prioritize and remove encampments while connecting residents with homelessness services, and
2. A timeline for removing all currently operating homeless encampments;
3. A strategy to prevent the reestablishment in homeless encampments;
4. Recommendations of policies that King County could implement for when and how future homeless encampments should be removed; and
5. The budget needed to carry out the plan.
D. The executive should coordinate with the sheriff's office, the department of natural resources and parks and the department of community and human services in the development of the plan.
E. The executive should electronically file the comprehensive plan to remove homeless encampments no later than October 1, 2022, with the clerk of the council, who shall retain the original and provide an electronic copy to all councilmembers, the council chief of staff, the chief policy officer and the lead staff for the committee of the whole, or its successor. The plan should be accompanied by a proposed motion that should acknowledge receipt of the plan.